Nobody Move
by InterceptionSunset
Summary: This is a rescue mission. This is a hostage negotiation. How do you save someone when you too are held captive? He's got all the aces. She's got a couple of jesters.
1. Out of Range

I supposed teleportation was never supposed to be easy. I've been to all sorts of places in the universe, and very few people believed it was plausible, let alone actually possible. Some places, though, nobody would even bat an eye if you suddenly vanished into thin air. Surely, teleportation opened up a wide variety of odd jobs to take advantage of. It was this type of rather risky work that got me into this horrid mess.

Most of my family had realized that this line of employment wasn't ideal, but I was always the black sheep. We were a humble people of modest means, usually just making enough to scrape by. I always felt that we could do better, though, and I set off as soon as I felt ready.

What did that get me? Several weeks worth of poverty and begging.

I could've just gone home, really, but that was a bruise to my pride that I wasn't willing to take. So I just carried on, asking for work from anyone who looked like they could spare some food. Sometimes I found a good Samaritan, but I mostly found people who attached a negative stigma to beggars. Not all of us were simply worthless fools. Just me, really. I was as foolish as they come.

So when I found a couple sketchy jobs, I snatched them up, and completed them as soon as possible. News travels that a member of the Sparks family was looking for work, and suddenly employment wasn't a hard thing to find at all. I became a mercenary - doing whatever it took to fill my pockets and put bread on the figurative table. At this point, my pockets were more than full.

So why did I take this job? _Why did I think this was a good idea?_

A crotchety, paranoid-looking old man hobbled up to me, eyes flicking worriedly from left to right. Left to right. Left to right. Left to-

I snapped back to reality, trying to ignore his metronome pupils. A small grin fit itself comfortably onto my lips, and I turned in my seat to face him. "You look tense, hun. Looking for someone?" I croaked out, my throat tight from the fumes of the venue I was in.

The old man shook his head slowly. Left to right. Left to right. Left to-

"You're the magician, eh? The one who can… Uh… _Disappear?_" He questioned slowly, tasting the foreign flavors of each word. It was no shock that he didn't know about magic. In this realm, logic reigned supreme.

I laughed mirthlessly, staring into my glass of water. "Yeah, you could say that." It could definitely be said. Whether or not it's true is another thing. Disappearing. I wish.

The geezer licked his lips anxiously, sitting down in the seat across from me. "I need your help… I need you to… Protect my son…" He averted his gaze down to the table, his mannerisms laced with some sort of shame.

I didn't respond for a moment, I just nodded solemnly. "A father who can't protect his own son? Wants a 19-year-old to do it for him? Well, ain't that a crying shame?"

He flinched deeply, lowering his head even further. I could hear him choke back tears, barely even able to form words. Finally, he raised his eyes to look at me. "I can't protect him. Not from this. Not anymore. I've already lost three of them."

It probably should've broken my heart. A man who had lost three children. A man who could possibly lose another. It didn't, though. I wasn't phased. "Are you part of a gang? Can't get away from 'the life'?" I snorted, sipping on my water.

He shook his head again, vehemently. Left right left right left right left-

"No, no, no! Not at all. I-I'm clean…" The old man waved down the waitress, asking for a small glass of whiskey, "You believe in fairy tales? Ya' know… Mermaids, fairies?"

At this, I did laugh. "You could say that." You could definitely say that. You could say it a thousand times, in different accents, different languages. Back home, my nextdoor neighbor was a puppet master who _made _his son, quite literally. Here, that was a just a children's book.

"Well… My kids, my boys, were taken… By a shadow," He paused, as if waiting for his news to elicit a violent reaction from me.

"That's it? A sexist, kidnapping shadow?" I scoffed, placing my hand over his glass of whiskey before he could take his first sip. Humoring him, I queried, "Where did this _shadow _take them? Any ideas?"

The man paused again, for an extended period, as if trying to work up the nerve to talk about it. Finally, he spoke, "Well… I can only guess… You've heard of, uh, that Pan fellow, right?"

Pan. Pan. Pan. Pots and pans? Sauce pans, frying pans? Pan. Pan. Pan. Pan flute? Pan. "Yes, of course." Peter Pan. Much loved, seldom seen. The people in the Enchanted Forest didn't even believe in him. A tale of fancy, one that rebellious kids believed in, one that they endlessly sought after. That is, until they grow up.

"I assume the shadow has taken them to his realm. Neverland, is it?" He kept asking questions. Questions that he definitely knew the answer to. The old man was stalling.

"Yes, yes, yes, of course. Neverland."

"I have but one more child, and I can't afford to lose him," He sighed deeply, eyeing his covered drink before running his hands up and down his face. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Stop. "Please, Miss. I really need your help."

I sat back in my chair, letting him have his drink at last. He eagerly took it, drinking from its contents slowly. "What makes you so sure I can save him?"

The old man set down his drink once more, staring up at me tearfully, hopefully. "I'm not sure, honestly, but I hope… You're the only one with any magic around here. I guess… I wanted to fight fire with fire."

Fighting fire with fire… Bound to get burned. "Telling that to a pyrophobic really isn't your best bet, sir. I'm a specialist. I specialize in _disappearing_, as you so ignorantly put it. Any other magic I have is crude, if anything at all."

"But if he gets taken, you can save him! If you can get to Neverland, you can bring my boy back to me!" The man was in tears now, practically begging me to accept the job.

All I could do was watch him, the tears streaming down his cheeks. Down. Down. Down. Down. Drip. What a sorry sight it is to see a grown man cry.

"Alright then," I conceded, getting a long-withheld, exuberant sigh of relief in return, "I'll protect your son."

That was how I ended up here, sitting on the hallway floor with a boy no older than 9. He was a shrimpy, lanky little thing, probably not first pick for dodgeball. The boy sat crosslegged, working tirelessly on building his intricate lego castle, complete with trap doors, a dungeon, and a throne.

I watched him absently, staring at his work, but not fully seeing it. He built. And build. And built. Taller and taller. Bigger and bigger. Better and better. He noticed my staring.

"Why are you here, anyways? Dad has left me alone here before," The boy mumbled, obviously a little hurt, as if his father had lost trust in him or something.

I shook my head a little, hardly a centimeter. Just a twitch. Leftright.

"I don't know, kid-"

"It's Alexander."

"Alright, Alex," I amended my previous address, getting a peeved look that meant something along the lines of 'it's-Alexander-dammit', "I don't know why he left me with you. He just worries about you. He's doing the best he can."

Alexander's face darkened considerably, and he stared down at his lego castle briefly before he lashed out, knocking his kingdom down. Pieces strewn across the well-polished floorboards, slowly sliding to a stop wherever they felt it best to lie.

"I don't need him to do his best. I don't need anyone to take care of me. I hate you. I hate him. Adults are dumb!" He shouted, his temper tantrum throwing me off guard. A sense of dread grew in my stomach as I watched him storm off into his bedroom, slamming the door shut. A little click later, and I could tell he'd locked himself into the room.

Then the house was silent, save for the soft whirring of the heating vents, and a slight amount of tinkering as I gathered up the destroyed pieces of his castle and put them away. I walked carefully up to his door, knocking on it softly. "Alexander? You alright, buddy?"

I waited. I waited. I knocked again. "Alexander… I know you're upset, and I'm sorry, but locking yourself away isn't going to help anything."

I waited. I waited. I waited. I waited and waited and waited waited waited waited. Nothing.

A panic rose up in my chest, and I began to knock more urgently on his door, hoping beyond hope that he was just being a stubborn brat. Nothing. Still nothing.

I stepped back from the door, reared up on my left foot, and kicked the door in. It flew open, hitting the wall with a cringe-inducing smack. I stormed into the room, looking frantically around his bedroom. Nothing. Nothing. Still nothing. I checked under his bed. I checked his closet. I checked every nook and cranny that a small boy could possibly fit himself into. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I can't believe it. He was gone. He disappeared. Alexander was probably better at disappearing than I was.

I let out a short cry of frustration, sitting down at the end of his bed, digging the sweaty heels of my palms into my eye sockets, as if it would bring him back. What did this kid even matter to me? I don't even like kids. He doesn't matter. He never mattered. And that's why he's gone right now.

A soft breeze caressed the back of my neck, making the little, sensitive hairs stand straight up. I removed my hands from my face, staring at the wall, but not really seeing it. I stared past it, beyond the limits of the house. I stared straight out the open window, curtains billowing in the wind. I stared straight out of the portal to which Alexander had lost himself to.

So that's it, then. Old man was right. The shadow was coming for Alexander. I let a non-sentient being carry away the child in my care.

So that's it, then. I was going to Neverland. Not to save the boy, but to prove that I can save the boy.

"If hearts were all made like they were balls of yarn,

Well they've all got the strings that get tugged on your heart.

Some are different lengths,

Some would be stronger than others,

And some would be the colors of your mothers and fathers."

Brand New ("Out of Range")

**AN: **Thoughts, then? We'll get to Peter in the next chapter, don't worry. This is more of a prologue. I'm still working out of my rut for my other OUAT fanfic, and this was the product of my efforts. Also, our lovely narrator has a name. I didn't feel the need to put it in here, though. Just so we have something to call her, it's Adeline. Thoughts on her? I actually thought her through a lot more than I did Mel (other story). Anyways. Leave a review, if you will. Much appreciated. Tootles.


	2. I'll Deserve Just That

Neverland was an angry place. It was full of anarchy and fire, covering the whole of the island in it's flames.. For someone who was rather magic-intolerant - I know what you're thinking, a magician with a magic allergy - this was a problem. The island had the most individually-driven magic source I'd ever encountered. The Enchanted Forest's magic was fairly united for how many problems existed there. The Land Without Magic was just as it sounded - magicless. Wonderland, though I'd only been there a sparingly few times, was chaotic and arbitrary, doing everything at random.

This place, though, it wasn't anarchy so much as it was a fascist society under the guise of anarchy. This isn't a government lesson, though. I've just spent too much time in the 'real world', reading through various books. If it's anything like I think it is, then the kids here run rampant and free, doing whatever they please. No rules. None. Except for that you have to do whatever Peter Pan says. See? Dictatorship.

Anyways, upon arriving to Neverland, I was greeted by absolutely nothing. Everything was chill. The atmosphere was fresh and pure, like a newborn baby. I smiled to myself, starting my hike into the woods. Everything was going very swimmingly. Then I promptly threw up in the bushes.

After several minutes of dry heaving, I rolled over onto my stomach, cursing my rotten luck and sweating profusely. Neverland wasn't so welcoming anymore. It was pissed, and it wanted me gone. A certain, excruciating heat seared through me, like the island was trying to purge an illness from itself. It got worse as time went on, though. I tried to push myself to my feet, tried to press onward, but I didn't get farther than a small pond in a nearby clearing.

Too much heat. Way too hot. Too hot, too hot, too hot, too hot. Jesus H. Christ, somebody save me.

Clawing at the cool dirt, I dragged myself over to the water, sliding in lethargically. Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe, everything is going to be alright. The waters calmed the feverish storm that had been trying to run me off the island, and suddenly, I felt fine.

I had a feeling it had little to do with the water. Suddenly, Neverland wasn't so keen on letting me go. Instead of trying to breach a bug-zapper, I was trying to escape an enormous bubble. Ignoring the screaming in my head that told me to get out as soon as possible, I continued onward. Somehow, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to warp out of here any time soon, not with my current levels of energy.

Just my luck, not even an hour later, the fake-anarchists found me. They found me hanging upside-down from a tree, a rope wrapped around my ankle. Thank the heavens that I decided a skirt would not be appropriate attire for forest-traversing.

Several dirty-looking boys stared at me, mystified, like I was an alien lifeform. I guess I was, considering I was an 'adult', and a female.

"Howdy. Take me to your leader," I chirped, swingly limply from the rather well-put-together trap. They all scowled, looking supremely grumpy to have to drag my slow ass around now. Reluctantly, they cut me down, binding my wrists behind me pretty much as soon as I had been let free.

Let me take a moment to explain these boy's manners. They did not open any doors for me. They did not let the lady go first. They definitely did not pay for my dinner. They didn't even ask how my day was. Not to mention, I'm not all that into ropes. Disgraceful. No second date from me. Nope. Never.

Nobody even offered to carry me. Isn't that the typical prisoner treatment, though? Suddenly, the detained lose the right to perform menial tasks like _walking? _God forbid you burn calories and expend effort. We need you to make more work for us.

The entire way there, nobody even made any shitty banter with me. No jokes. No prodding. No annoyance. Total silence, whole way there. As I was still getting over the Neverland fever, I didn't have the energy to make any more conversation. I think I'm still delirious.

Let me fast forward to the good part, though. I'm sure you're getting bored.

"Oh, Peter. That feels so good-"

Too far. Back up.

"And who are you, exactly?" The mousy boy questioned, seeming to have placed himself on a permanent throne, regardless of whether or not he was sitting down. I could only will myself to stare up at him blankly, seeing him, but not really seeing him. Seeing patterns here, huh? He noticed my lack of attention easily. Pan snapped his fingers a couple times in front of my face, flicking me in the nose. I hardly even flinched, though. My energy levels had been completely depleted, I was done for the day. Call me later.

"Not into talking, then?" He scoffed, circling me calmly like a foraging vulture. Pan crouched to my level, where I was on my knees - which is also something I'm not into, kinda degrading - eyeing me up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. His green eyes came back to rest on my face, looking quite smug, like he'd already bested me. "Doesn't matter. I'll be doing the talking for now. I'm sure your _journey_ has been very tiring. Poor you."

Hell yes, poor me. I was moronic enough to get myself into this mess, but I didn't expect to be thrown onto an island full of S&M perverts.

Pan continued in his charade, "Pardon my manners, girl." Oh, yes. Such manners. "Welcome to Neverland. Depending on how you answer my questions, you'll be back home very shortly, and you'll never have to hear from me again."

"Thank God," I blurted, the filter between my brain and my mouth short-circuiting. He blinked owlishly at me, almost looking genuinely confused at my words.

"I'm sorry. You do know who am I, do you?" Peter questioned condescendingly, looking mildly offended that I wasn't keen on hanging around this island. Hell, if it weren't for Alexander, I'd let him send me home straightaway. No. I needed more time. I needed to stay on this island.

I bit my tongue, searching for the right words to answer his question. Glancing back up at him, I grinning rather lifelessly. "If those tights are any indication, I know exactly who you are." Oh, God. Somebody sew my lips shut.

He didn't react for a moment, just staring at me, expressionless. A nasty smile graced his lips, and he shook his head in exasperation. Left, right, left, right, left, right. I'm getting dizzy. Can we all stop with the head-shaking? Suddenly, I felt the overwhelming urge to un-have my lunch again. The fever was coming back with a vengeance. I doubled over, already feeling the sweat build up on my skin.

Suddenly, I wasn't in Neverland anymore. If the homey atmosphere was any indication, I was back in the Enchanted Forest. There was an alarming difference between Neverland and here. The magic in the forest was calming, rolling, evenly dispersed in every corner of the land. In Neverland, it was more of a fiery dome, contracting and expanding as it pleased. As Pan pleased.

I didn't have the energy to get to my feet, so I simply rolled onto my back and rocked myself into a seated position, my hands still bound behind me.

"How did you do that?" A venomous voice slithered it's way to my ears, sending a small shiver down my back. I shuffled around, scooting to face a very tense-looking teenaged boy. He looked concerned, curious - ready to snap my neck if he didn't like my answer.

I was having a rather Kamikaze day, and rolled my neck calmly. "I imagine the same way you got here," I cooed patronizingly, "Poof!" He looked incredibly unamused with my onomatopoeia. Sobering up a bit from my state of delusion, I amended my previous explanation, "I can teleport to and from places. Depending on where it is, it will be easier or harder to get there and leave. Here, it's easy. Neverland, not so much."

Pan looked prideful and unsurprised that his precious island was so annoying to get to. It was irritating, his silent boasting. "Explain."

I sighed, sniffing pathetically to myself, as if I'd suddenly caught the common cold. "The magic in that hellhole is unnatural. I assume you control it - yes? I pissed you off. You didn't want me around. So Neverland ejected me."

His brows furrowed thoughtfully, and he nodded. Up, down, up, down. This shit again. Peter gave me a strange look for tracking the way he moved his head. "Interesting…"

I suppose I just handed him a loaded gun, but it wasn't as though he didn't already have enough. Me, I wasn't a firearms type of gal. I was more into running and fleeing. Yeah, take the safe way out.

"So, why Neverland? Haven't got enough of the universe to yourself?" He circled me again, dragging me up to my feet by my bound wrists. I tried to flinch away from him, nearly toppling over again. Clearly unimpressed with my weakness, he scoffed audibly. I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly popped out of their sockets.

I shrugged nonchalantly, countering him, "Haven't you got enough dirty little boys to hang out with?"

"Ah, so you were trying to save someone, then? Did I take somebody important to you?" Pan was mocking me so hard I could feel my self-esteem dropping.

"Not really. I'm getting paid to keep him safe. I'm only trying to save him to prove that I can. It's not good street cred if everyone knows that I let my charge get kidnapped." I paid no attention to the fact that I was using way too many foreign terms while talking to this sheltered creature of darkness.

He just nodded thoughtfully, thankfully not in my line of sight. I've had enough of this 'up, down' bullshit. Fucking A.D.D. "So it's the Alex fellow, then? Showed up earlier… He's a wily one. You do realize that he is here of his own free will, don't you?"

I shrugged, indifferent to his point. That kid was gonna go home and hang out with his pops whether he liked it or not. Not fair, but hey, that's life. Also, I'm getting paid _really _good to save this kid.

"Alright, so, we done here?" I figured he'd just ditch me and we'd part ways, never to see each other again. Eventually I'd find a better way to get Alexander back...

Pan laughed, not a nice laugh either. "Depends. Where is 'here'? We've been back in Neverland for quite a while now."

I blanched, eyes flicking around wildly as he continued dragging me off to God-knows-where. I've really got to work on my observation skills.

"I'll be damned…"

"I'm responsible, but won't take the blame.

A northwest climate on the brink of breaking,

That's behind your eyes while my hands are shaking.

A revolving door that has no shame,

I'm responsible and will not change."

Touche Amore ("I'll Deserve Just That")

**AN: **How is it? Is it terrible, good, so-so? It's kind of filler, really. I guess it explains some things, though. Adeline is kinda crazy, maybe a little bit of an asshole, eh? I also just realized I still haven't put her first name into the story… Wow… I was going to go back and put it in, but I didn't find a place that seemed nice enough… Anyways, thanks to ThePhantomismylove, fruitylooper, and MateriaGirl16 for leaving reviews. It really, really means a lot. And, aw, I'm so flattered. I'm nowhere near college. I'm 15. Leave a review, guys! I love reading them! Laters~


	3. For Mayor In Splitsville

Being held captive is not nearly as interesting as you think. In fact, it's downright, horrifyingly boring. There's really no adrenaline involved after the initial apprehensive first minutes. You just sit there with nothing to do, nobody to talk to, not even a nice view, depending on where they drop you. Fortunately for me, I was plopped off to the side of their campsite and left alone. Sure, my hands were still uncomfortably tied behind my back, but that was the least of my problems.

Bruises heal. Physical and psychological damage were a bit harder to fix.

I was being tested, of course. Nobody was guarding me. I could easily scamper off into the forest and escape. They were waiting to see what I would do. Would I create a crafty plan to leave these wretched beings behind? Would I simply sprint headlong into the unknown in my desperation to flee? What would the resident female do?

So I did what I knew best: absolutely fucking nothing.

The dubious 'Lost Boys' couldn't help but eye me curiously as they went about their daily routines. Was this woman stupid? She had a giant opening to get out of camp, and yet she just chooses to sit there?

I had my reasons, and my reasons were sound. Now, I was no dumbass. I had never been to this island before now. Everything was entirely unfamiliar to me. By leaving camp, I would subject myself to the elements, as well as Pan's wrath if he found me before I got myself killed.

No, I would sit here, where it was marginally safe.

It wasn't until around sunset that the resident dictator paid me a visit. The cool air had begun to nip at my skin, and my stomach was contemplating it's own digestion. If somebody didn't feed me, I'd probably just up and die. Sounds quite melodramatic, eh? I had room to be melodramatic here.

"I have to say - I'm quite surprised at you," His royal highness began, strolling out from behind the tree I sulked under, "I assumed you'd be halfway across the island by now."

I ran my tongue along the ridges of my teeth, annoyed with how dry my mouth was. "Funny how things work out, huh?" I flashed him a toothy grin, elated to see that he frowned at my feigned joy.

A leech, I decided, is what Pan was. Slowly feeding off others, sapping all the joy out of their system. He laughed at your sadness, dancing in your tears as they left their puddles on the ground. He would make meadows out of your anger, prancing through the flames of the wildflowers. Happiness, though, he could do without. Unless it benefited him, he didn't want to see you smile.

So grin I did, and boy, did it piss him off.

"Good to see you so fresh, girl," He said curtly, his words clipped and lifeless.

I merely nodded, prepared to let him scorn my content disposition. "That would be Adeline, my dear companion." One can only assume that the other people who'd been trapped on this God-forsaken island had far worse things to say to Peter - various curses, fancy insults, different reasons to let them out of Neverland - you name it, it's probably been said to him. Too bad he is dealing with a psychotic bitch, as of now.

"Companion?" Pan questioned, looking like he'd just smelled something bad, "We are hardly of the same species." Ah, typical response from a self-proclaimed king. Why should a blue-blood make friends with rats? Especially rats that trespass into his palace.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes skyward. "Well, you're definitely not human, if that's what you mean." He stood, rigid, his expression thoughtfully malicious. "I've met plenty of demons friendlier than you."

It was painfully obvious how quickly he was losing his patience. I decided it was high time to shut my mouth. … And then he laughed. It wasn't a nice laugh, not a hearty laugh, not a sarcastic laugh, but a… Peter Pan laugh. That is the only way to describe it. The laugh was humorous, demeaning, and soulless all at the same time. I shivered, the cold of night finally getting to me. I'd tested the waters a little too roughly, and the ripple effect was sure to drown me. Good thing I knew how to swim.

"If you learn to cooperate, you'll find that I can be very accommodating," Pan commented, waving down one of his boys, "Untie her, let her relieve herself, and show her where she'll be staying for the night." My lips curled up in mild disgust at the word 'relieve'. Something about this so-called _boy_ controlling when I can go piss in the woods was unsettling and gross.

It's _my_ bladder. What am I gonna do, run off somewhere mid-bathroom break? Fuck off.

So the arbitrarily selected boy did as he was told. I rubbed my wrists softly, trying to ease the bruising, as I was led a little ways into the woods. The boy stalked off, leaving me to do my business, which I, in turn, did.

Sadly enough, we were back at Lost Boy Headquarters in less than 15 minutes. I tried to take in my surroundings as best as I could. I'd need as much knowledge of the island as possible when the time came to escape. Briefly, I wondered why I wasn't so frazzled about this situation. After a bit of pondering, I realized it's because I wanted to be here. Well, _wanting _is a bit of a stretch, but it was more like I _needed_ to be here. If only to bring some sorry brat home to his father.

I am here of my own accord, and therefore cannot be angry that I am trapped.

That, or it just hasn't totally sunk in yet that I have royally fucked myself over.

Anyways, I was then led to a shabby-looking tent, where I assumed I would be staying for the hopefully short duration of my stay here. It had a low ceiling, very nearly brushing the top of my head. As a rather short woman, I tried to put myself in the place of some of the other boys on this island. I could imagine that this was generally the least-liked living space to pick from. Some of these guys were giants.

Pushing back the front of the tent, I was greeted with something completely unsurprising. It was just as little on the inside as I thought it was. It could fit two people, if you especially liked to be forced into spooning someone. There was a large, worn-looking, frayed blanket sitting in the center of the tent. I curiously checked behind me to see if anyone was waiting for me to be done exploring, but nobody seemed to be.

Abandoning my inhibitions, I plopped down onto the tent floor, wrapping the blanket around me. As I thought - well-worn, but well-loved. They'd picked a nice one. I approve.

I shrugged off the surprisingly comfortable fabric, and angled myself to better check the rest of the stuff they'd thrown in here. Towards the corner, there lay a couple articles of clothing, and a pair of dusty boots. I wrinkled my nose at the offending footwear, deciding that my own boots were sufficient enough for now. Besides this, there was a rather flat pillow, and a thin bedspread. Hope most nights were warm...

Now seemed as good a time as any to reflect on what I'd been through thus far. Firstly, Alexander had willingly marched himself onto this island, and was probably not too keen on leaving. Secondly, this island was a death trap. I had better chances of breaking into the Queen's castle than repeatedly entering and exiting Neverland. Thirdly, Pan had control of much of the magic here. He could eject me entirely, and keep me out if really wanted to. I had to assume that he could do the opposite, which I would really have to look out for.

Lastly, and possibly the worst piece of information I'd salvaged all day, was that he didn't want me dead. Yet, that is. He also didn't want me gone, considering he went to all the trouble in dragging me back to this shithole. So what did Pan want?

Only time will tell.

"You, girl. Hurry up," A gruff, aggravated sounding voice called to me from the outside of my new tent. I conceded almost immediately, shuffling haphazardly back into the outside world. It was not a happy face I was met with, no, quite the opposite. He looked like one of those bedraggled parents that host a kid's party and suddenly are weighed down by the obnoxious little brats they invited into their home. I related quite a bit. Something quite curious, though, was the long, ugly scar etched across his face.

Something told me he meant business.

"That's _Miss_. Girl, to you, sir," I chided, knowing full well that I wasn't doing myself any favors in pissing off the locals. He looked unfazed though, and shoved a bowl of some sort of food into my hands, simultaneously pushing me towards the campfire everyone else seemed to be sitting around.

I would've given one of my organs not to have to sit with the Lost Boys, but it was to no avail. It seemed that isolating me wasn't among one of Pan's tactics. Something new to keep in mind.

All eyes were on me as I quietly snuck in off to the side, trying to avoid looking as conspicuous as I figured I did. As I sat down slowly, non-threateningly, the gazes slowly turned themselves back to whatever it is that they were preoccupied with. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Having everyone stare at you as you walk onto the scene is one of the most nerve-wracking things anyone has to deal with, ever.

Don't look at me that way. What did I do to you?

Trespass into your home and bother the residents? Nah, not me. Never. That sounds like a rude, horrible thing to do to someone. Who could ever be so inconsiderate?

I stared into the almost-appetizing bowl of food, trying to figure out how this stew could be a metaphor for life. Taking a spoonful of my supplied sustenance, I decided that it could never be a metaphor for life. It was too good. Life, though? It sucked major ass.

I send my compliments to the chef.

That night, I didn't sleep so well. I continued having various allergic reactions to Neverland's magic. I itched, I sneezed, my eyes watered, my skin felt dry, and I could almost swear somebody was watching me. It was suffocating. I tried multiple times to see if I could try to warp off the island, but it was as the whole realm was covered in a sheet of Saran wrap. You could poke at it and prod it, but it wouldn't do more than bend. I would've been more comfortable trying to punch through bulletproof glass.

Fact is, I was stuck here.

Fact is, I hated being trapped.

"But I guess in the end it sort of feels like every day

It's harder to stay happy where you are.

There are all these ways to look through the fence

Into your neighbor's yard

Why even risk it? It's safer to stay distant."

La Dispute ("For Mayor In Splitsville")

**AN: **Wrong neighborhood, motherfucker. Whatchu gon' do about it, Andeline? Speaking of which, heyyyy, I actually added her name into this chapter. Three cheers for goal-reaching! Thanks to fruitylooper, Guest, and luvduv123 for reviewing! Hahaha, glad to see everyone finds Adeline badass. Is she really? I don't know that I planned for her to be… Thoughts, anyone? I could always go for more reviews, if you know what I mean. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Adios, everyone~


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